News

Only one engineer can win each zone and so today we had to say goodbye to more engineers. The second set of engineers to go are: Kelly in Energy Zone Amit in Health Zone Rain in High Performance Zone Dan in Measurement Zone Alex in Water Zone It was a draw in Transport Zone! We hope you’ve enjoyed taking part! Thank you for all the time and effort you’ve put into answering student questions and taking part in live chats. Students are getting a lot out of the event. Engineers like Amit are showing good camaraderie for their zones. And with evictions happening everyday, the tension is building. After yesterday’s eviction Paige tweeted: Highlights from student questions include: Some health and safety in Health Zone: “Have you ever been injured at work?” Some history in Transport Zone: “would you like to be an engineer in roman times?” And something personal … Continue reading →

It’s been a great event so far! Engineers have been working hard to answer over 1,000 questions and have taken part in 60 live chats collectively. But as only one engineer can win in each zone it’s time to announce the first to be evicted. The first engineers to go are: Carrie in Energy Zone Emily in Health Zone Grant in High Performance Zone Mike in Measurement Zone Ivanka in Transport Zone Harriet in Water Zone We’d like to say thank you to all the engineers for all the time and effort you’ve put into answering student questions and taking part in live chats. We hope you’ve enjoyed taking part. Students are getting a lot out of the event. In one live chat a student said: “Thank you so much for talking to us  we have had such an amazing time speaking to you! We are all so inspired by … Continue reading →

At the start of the second week, students have been asking the engineers some pretty challenging questions.   In Transport Zone student neilaandkitty asked Emma “Are you not a pacifist? Did you want to be responsible for machinery that could effectively end lives?” Emma defends her work as a weapons engineer as a means of defending our life style, peace and retaining the free country we live in.   In Health Zone Paige fills in student jonese on the health risks of using nano technology to treat diseases, with a video of a man who has literally turned Blue from drinking silver nano particles! And Martin discusses with student deviesl3 the possibility of inventing a moon lift. It’s great to see topical issues like these being discussed in both questions and live chats.

It’s National Science and Engineering Week. This year’s theme “Our World in Motion” relates well to what students have been asking.   Student rustyhook49 in High Performance Zone wants to know if Kayleigh has ever drive an F1 car, while engineers in Transport Zone are busy being busy and Ken in Water Zone explains water in motion using Bernouilli’s equation.   With the first eviction on Tuesday, it’s all to play for!  

Typing Thursday today. 12 live chats booked – the most for the event. And a host more questions sent through to the engineers. Some of the favourites from today: Do you have a creative side and if so how does it help your work? how much do you get paid? We’re always especially happy to engineers from other zones leave comments on questions where they’ve got something to add: Joanne Davies seems to get to blow things up at work. Usaid doesn’t. But the answer that made me laugh the most was on this question: what is your favourite chamical? N2O – what else?    

Over 1000 students are now registered on the site and been busy asking over 800 questions. We ran 9 live chats today, and things seem to be going smoothly.   Students have been getting to know the engineers and asking some great questions about their work: “roughly how many lives have you changed by building the pump?” Students have been asking about gender differences in engineering and if engineers work sustainably.   Engineers have also been talking about some of the weirdest things that have ever happened in their jobs and why being an engineer can involve using lots of weapons!

The waiting is over, live chats have started and students are busy putting the engineers through their paces. As this is the first I’m an Engineer, Get me out of here!, it’s been difficult to predict exactly what students will ask engineers. Students have asked the engineers over 500 questions. Some interesting questions relate to the individual engineer’s work, such as “how did you make the maze solving robot?“, “do you design products to send into space?” and “how do you deal with political issues on weaponary in work?” Lots of students have been asking questions about the qualifications needed to be an engineer and how long they studied at university for, which are great for giving insight into engineering as a career. It’ll be interesting to see if the type of questions change as students learn more about engineering. We ran 5 live chats today, where students have been trying to … Continue reading →

The first I’m an Engineer event is just around the corner, so it’s time to announce the engineers and schools taking part. The event will be running from 12th-23rd March, coinciding with National Science and Engineering week. The Energy and Transport Zones tie in particularly well with this year’s theme Our World in Motion. Schools Over 80 schools are taking part and we’re hoping they’ll enjoy the experience. One teacher who took part in I’m a Scientist June 2011 said: “You could have powered a small town off the energy the kids produced this during our session”. Engineers Competition for engineers was tough and choosing the final engineers to take part wasn’t easy. We had to turn down lots of engineers involved in cutting-edge projects. Energy Engineers Usaid Rauf EDF Energy I am an engineer customising the design of a simulator for the first nuclear power station to be built … Continue reading →

At the end of November we announced the first 3 zones for I’m an Engineer. High Performance: for engineers pushing technology to the limit. Energy: for engineers involved in any aspect of energy. Producing more or using less. Health: for engineers helping us stay fit and alive. Medical, environmental, whatever sets your pulse racing. We’ve had a good few suggestions in from people and with over 90 engineers having now applied to take part we’ve now decided on two more zones: Water: for engineers who deal with water. Clean water, dirty water, deep water, old water. Transport: for engineers who move things. Bridge builders, car designers, rocket scientists. We also have some more good news. The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) have asked to sponsor a sixth zone. This is going to be: Measurement: for STFC engineers who work out how big, how far, how fast, how heavy how… … Continue reading →

A couple of weeks ago we asked for your help on designing this site and you’ll hopefully have noticed that the banner (top part) of this website has changed.  It has gone from the temporary plain design to a collage of engineering themed images. There are two main components, a series of line drawings and a set of icons. We would really value your feedback on this. Some questions we’d like to answer are: Does the style, the “design drawings”, convey engineering in realistic way? Whilst we can’t possibly convey the entire breadth of engineering in one banner, how have we done? We could we add to dramatically improve the range of drawings and icons? Can you tell what everything is? Is something confusing? For students: does this design appeal to you? Does it make engineering look interesting? Please do leave a comment below to let us know what you think. … Continue reading →